Caila Holm was not the typical mom petitioning for rezoning when she stood before the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board earlier this month on behalf of her neighborhood, Eagles Bluff.

In fact, when she got up to plead their case, it was a change that might not ever impact Holm personally.

Eagles Bluff resident Caila Holm points out the new section of the neighborhood, while standing on the school zone boundary line that split the neighborhood until recently.(Photo11: Jennifer Babich)

That's because Holm doesn't have a school-aged child yet. And as a military spouse, she expects to move before her 2-year-old son is old enough to board a bus. But what she does have is a background in social work and activism, an interest in political advocacy and a desire to make a change for the better.

So for Holm, things came naturally.

"I got involved because everyone was complaining, but no one was doing anything," she said.

Holm bought her home last February. She was assured by her real estate agent that she was zoned for Northeast Elementary, less than a mile from her neighborhood.

But she quickly learned that the truth was more complex, with half her neighborhood zoned for Northeast, the other half zoned for St. Bethlehem for K-2 and then Burt Elementary for 3-5.

Zoning line never moved

It was an issue more than a decade in the making, explained CMCSS Chief Operations Officer Jim Sumrell. He noted that the boundary between the two school zones was established in what was an open field back in 2007, long before the Eagles Bluff neighborhood existed.

Power lines and a school zone boundary line split through the middle of the Eagles Bluff neighborhood.(Photo11: Jennifer Babich)

"It didn't matter when we established the line. It was just an open area," said Sumrell.

Sumrell said the issue arose as the neighborhood developed, and real estate agents started giving residents the wrong information about school zoning, sending families to the wrong school to register their kids.

But Holm said, beyond the neighborhood being split, the problem was also logistical for some Eagles Bluff families.

"Part of the issue really had to do with had to do with how far it was to Burt," said Holm, who pointed out those kids were being bused five miles to downtown Clarksville to attend school — despite the fact that there were multiple schools much closer.

Meeting with residents

Holm helped spearhead the effort to get their neighborhood rezoned, and she and other neighbors met with Sumrell to learn how to navigate the process.

"I just said, 'Look, let's bring in all the neighbors and I'll show them the maps,'" said Sumrell, who said he first met with around a dozen neighborhood residents last summer. "Then I just told them the way the process works."

"I continued to be impressed by Jim Sumrell," said Holm. "He told us the correct way to go about the process."

That process included attending multiple meetings, listening to school data and recommendations and providing their own feedback and testimony.

It took months, and was not without frustrations, as the initial recommendation was not to change the zoning, in spite of the the neighborhood zoning split.

"They heard me stand up and say that I'm not recommending any changes," said Sumrell. "I felt I couldn't let a small group come in and speak for the whole neighborhood."

"I had pretty much given up," said Holm. "I think we were all pretty jaded at that point."

But Sumrell said the school system then compiled all the data and feedback, and studied it from every angle.

"We're going to make a recommendation based on all the data, and we're going to let the public provide feedback. We listen to what they say, and when we're able to, we'll change our recommendation," said Sumrell.

Landing on a solution

Ultimately, that's exactly what he did — changing his recommendation to the school board to approve the rezoning, giving residents the option to either stay with St. Bethlehem and Burt or go to Northeast, and even providing busing to all three schools. To balance the numbers, they'll move a voluntary Pre-K class next year from Northeast to nearby Glenellen.

"I think it's an elegant solution," said Holm.

Construction is still underway on the new section of the Eagles Bluff neighborhood, which was split by a school zone boundary first established before the neighborhood existed.(Photo11: Jennifer Babich)

The school board voted to approve the rezoning at their Jan. 15 formal meeting, making it official for the 2019-20 school year.

Sumrell cautioned the process doesn't always mean the public gets what they want.

"We want the community's feedback. That doesn't mean we'll recommend the change, but we will listen," he said.

For that, Holm and her neighbors are grateful.

"It gives me faith in local politics. It gives me optimism that you can impact change," said Holm.